Canaan Lore
Brief Overview of Lore God created many worlds in his pocket. One of these many worlds is called Canaan. This land is young, only 100 years old, and suffers constant strife and conflict. Narffileis, the Canaan church elder, has recruited four legendary heroes to rescue the people of Canaan from their conflict. These four heroes are the Ranger Kalika, the Mage Heineger, the Priest Walhallen and the Warrior Evian. Narffileis claims that together they can find four Sacred Animals, and with their strength they can open the door leading to another world, the true paradise, returning to their original land, where we currently live. After the King of Canaan died a tragic death, the four heroes returned to the capital, Karugarner City, to try to regain control of the city and the people. They abandoned their quest temporarily to help the people, but were ambushed at the Tri-Fork. A huge battle broke out, and Kalika disappeared. Evian is now believed to be dead, and only Heineger and Walhallen survived. They escaped and returned to Karugarner, only to be exiled by the church who believed they had sought to seize power. Canaan slowly regained order. Supporters of the four heroes said they were all still alive, still on their journey seeking the Sacred Animals to allow the people to reach paradise. Young people, full of dreams and passion, are excited at the prospect of adventure at following in their predecessors’ footprints, to go through the door to the old world. They plan to find the four heroes and help them complete their quest for the Sacred Animals, or if they cannot, they will seek out the Sacred Animals for themselves. A hundred years ago, the leader of a great crusade, the courageous King Mata, came through a door and thought he had found paradise. But now, plagued with strife and wars, the Canaan people believe that the old world is the true paradise, as it has been left uninhabited and untouched by humans for a century. A new era is coming. Will the Canaan people find the door and enter our world? Beginning In the beginning, there was only God. God created the world, and wrote it all in a book, leaving the Book unfinished. It was said that whoever found this Book would have the power to rewrite God’s creation and finish His work. One day, a long time ago, when the universe was still young, two brothers named John and Bellen stumbled upon an ancient book… The Book told the story of the brothers’ lives, and of their destiny: Bellen would trade his hearing for the ability to create, and John would trade his sight for the power to destroy. Together, they would bring balance to the world by creating and destroying according to the Book. They were to finish God’s creation, and then, said the Book, they would go through a magical door. But something went terribly wrong. While Bellen created new life, both animal and vegetation, John introduced life cycles, decomposition, and change. All was good, until one day John made Bellen’s lover, Elean, a mortal. It was an accident, but nothing either of them could do would reverse it, and so Elean died in Bellen’s arms. Bellen, broken by grief, pleaded with John to come through the magical door with him in search of Elean. Together they did, ignoring the Book, and straying from their destiny. As they stepped into the realm beyond the door, they dissolved into reality, into the earth, the sea, and the plants. While their consciousness spread through this new world, they found Elean, united with the winds and rivers. Gradually, the boys’ presence filled every lifeform and influenced the land. New species developed from their human features; agility and intelligence gave birth to the elves, and shrewdness and mistrust created the barbarians. To this day, these two are the only races that remember the beginning of the world. Now, the goddess Elean can still be seen dancing in the forests, singing to the birds of her cruel fate, while John and Bellen sit back to back, never seeing or speaking to one another but forever inseparable. Janus Janus, named after the two gods facing back to back, is the power brought down to the world by the gods. It surrounds and influences everything. There are many types, to influence all aspects of life. Janus can cause a mother’s tears to fall, and encourage an army to keep marching. Without the aid of Janus, these things would not happen. Janus is completely invisible and undetectable, until it directly influences a person’s feelings and life. When this happens, the person will have no doubts about Janus’ existence. The many types of Janus include happiness, pride and humour. In the Canaan world, as described in the Book, Janus can take on a physical form. Pride Janus is solid ice, whereas Love Janus is a soft, red jelly-like substance. Janus was created when Elean, John and Bellen dissolved into the earth and its lifeforms. Because of this, Janus has become the foundation for the entire world of Canaan. Over time, creatures combined with the help of Janus to create new and wonderful creatures. This is how the elves and barbarians were born; Janus combined with animals to create two new, unique races. In the same way, blood from wars combined with predatory beasts and a type of Janus influenced by rage, to create devils and other fierce and evil creatures. Canaan Paradise Over a thousand years after the world’s creation, crusades and expeditions began. The army of the 3rd Crusade, led by their courageous king, King Mata, had a long journey ahead of them. One day during their journey, they stumbled upon the magical door described in the Book, the one that John and Bellen had once gone through. They protected and defended this door as though it was a message from the gods themselves, however King Mata became curious, and wanted to explore the world on the other side. When King Mata stepped through the door, he was shocked by how peaceful and beautiful the world beyond was. He remembered the Book’s description of paradise, and named the land Canaan. After people have invaded the Canaan world, wars will most certainly break out, and destroy the peace and beauty of the land. Meanwhile, the old world, emptied of conflict and human concerns, will return to its peaceful state, and will become a new Canaan. Canaan King When word got out about this legendary paradise, people swarmed to it. Everyone wanted to live in this beautiful and peaceful land. Adventurers, of cours e, were curious and excited by the prospect of exploration, and travelled deep within the land to find treasures and history. King Mata travelled too, and on his journey he faced dangers that are beyond the people’s comprehension. His men sacrificed themselves to save the King’s life. King Mata returned, surviving the great dangers of their journey, but he returned alone. On his return, it is said that God was angry with King Mata for putting his people at risk and endangering his men. He was punished by God, and was plagued with disappointment and depression. He chose to leave Canaan because he could no longer face his shame. The exploration team continued, now led by a strong and capable warrior named Adir. Adir chose to lead them to the heart of Canaan. One day during their expedition, there was a great earthquake that shook the whole land. Grand mountains rose up from the centre and encircled the Heart of Canaan. Now that their route as blocked, Adir decided to lead them on a detour, still wanting to reach the Heart of Canaan. This is how the human race first encountered the other races of the land. This was a great discovery for Adir and his team. After their expedition ended, a great deal of time passed. King Mata’s younger sister, Llyth, fell in love with Adir. The couple married, and continued to lead their lives in peace for many years, until the 6th Crusade began. An ambitious Emperor from a nation known as Kazan invaded Canaan, exploiting the people. He was a vicious Emperor who expected the people to obey him. When the people ontinued to follow Adir, their only figure of authority, the Emperor named him a fugitive. Adir sought help from the elves, and spent many long years battling against the Emperor and his men to defend the people. Finally, the people were saved from this overbearing Emperor. After this disaster, Adir realised he was not ready to lead the people as a King. Even King Mata, an experienced and respected leader, had failed to keep the Canaan people safe. Adir left Canaan and returned to the old world, just as King Mata had done before him. The door in the universe seemed to disappear, becoming hidden from the people. Llyth mourned her husband’s departure. Little did he know, she was pregnant with his son, whom she gave birth to and raised on her own, always believing that her beloved husband would return to them one day. The people of Canaan kept their hopes high despite their strife. Llyth and Adir’s son went on to become the official King of Canaan, and the people respected him as a leader. With his reign, the human race finally fully entered the Canaan world. The Door This was the beginning of a new era. The 1st King of Canaan united the Canaanians under him for the first time since they had entered the world. The 2nd King of Canaan built the first capital city, Karugarner, on the old kingdom’s ruins. During the 3rd King of Canaan’s reign, the barbarians invaded. The 3rd King repelled the barbarians and established the kingdom’s borders in an attempt to protect the people from further invasions. The 4th King of Canaan was more ruthless, and he conquered the Kazan nation. The Kazanians were descendants of the ancient Emperor, and the 4th King exiled them to the Kazan Desert, cutting them off from the rest of the people entirely. The kingdom flourished under the 5th King of Canaan’s rule. The Canaanians and dwarves formed a solid alliance, hoping to prevent the barbarians from invading so easily again. The Kazan people remained detached in the desert. The Canaanians had all but forgotten about them, while the Kazanians had begun building a harbour to increase trade and provide connections between the humans and the northern elven regions. Commerce boomed – markets sold exotic items from the north and oriental regions, and despite their exile the Kazanians prospered. They were still bitter at the actions taken by the 4th King, but were pleased with their own progress. The 6th King of Canaan was a scholar, more focused on the arts and history than battles and conflict. After the conflicts were resolved, he focused on studying the past to educate himself and his people. The tale of King Mata and Adir’s great adventures unfolded before him. He explored information from the elves and dwarves, aiming to complete a historical collection and reinforce the people’s belief in God. A Canaan church was established, and over time more and more people attended to learn more about their history and the gods. The church elder was named Narffileis. From this point onwards, Narffileis began to search for four willing heroes to go on a legendary quest for the church and the Canaan people. However, later in his life, the King became miserable when his civilisation began to crumble. The dwarves rebelled, and won the support of Canaanians from an eastern wasteland in the kingdom. They were dissatisfied with having a King to dictate what they could do, and wanted true freedom. There were many battles, and this took its toll on the King. After some time, the dwarves calmed again and their rebellion ended, but the internal chaos in the kingdom was beyond repair. The Rebel Army escaped to Cladoral Island, and struggled for independence from the kingdom. Facing the internal and external troubles, the church decided to take action. Everyone had heard the rumour that after being left empty for so long, the old world would now be peaceful just like Canaan once was. If they were ever to return to the old world, someone would need to seek out the door described in the Book. Rumour had it that the door was not only hidden, but over the years Janus had forced it to remain shut, and the only way to open it was to seek out four legendary Sacred Animals described in the Book. They believed that the door to a true paradise could then be opened, and they would once again reach a perfect world without strife and evil. Narffileis finally recruited the four heroes he had sought after for so long. They were a Priest named Walhallen, a Mage named Heineger, a Ranger named Kalika and a Warrior named Evian. They were eager to hunt down the Sacred Animals and, with them, to open the Sacred Gate – the door described in the Book. New Exploration Team Before the quest for the Sacred Animals ended, the 6th King of Canaan died strangely and suddenly. The very next day, his heir also died in the same odd manner. Karugarner City was in uproar, thrown off by confusion and grief. The four heroes rushed back to settle the problems and find out first-hand what had happened, but were ambushed at Tri-Fork. After the attack on the four heroes, alika disappears, and Evian was believed to have been killed. Only Heineger and Walhallen remained. They returned to the disordered Karugarner City, but were accused by the church of persecution and lotting to seize power. That night, a huge battle flared, raging on throughout the night. At last, hard-willed Heineger escaped, and brought Walhallen with him. The four heroes were now scattered; Evian was thought to be dead, Kalika had disappeared, and Heineger and Walhallen had fled from Karugarner City. Supporters of the heroes said they were remaining hidden, not wanting to deal with the disorder and accusations from the church. Following the battle, Narffileis shut himself away in his study, and did not come out. This roused people’s suspicions; was he to blame for the attack on the four heroes? After all, he had sent them on the legendary quest. Doubts filled the people’s minds. With no one there to fight back, the Aristocrats’ Council seized their opportunity and took control over the city. The era of the Canaan kingdom was declared over, and slowly the world struggled to regain order. Rumours still spread about the legendary heroes. Supporters of them said they had disappeared intentionally to continue their quest. If they could locate the Sacred Animals they could prove their innocence to the church and the people. Over time, the people began to distrust the nobles and the church. The rumours caused confusion, and everyone felt unsafe. When times were rough and hopeless, people believed that God would hand down the Book and allow someone to rewrite creation, allowing them to open the Door to the paradise of the old world, returning to a peaceful land once again. A year later, Narffileis returned. Some of the people thought he had betrayed the four heroes. Despite this, he began a new expedition, and many young people were excited at the opportunity to help find the Sacred Animals and open the Sacred Gate. The new adventurers began their training eagerly, and became known as the New Adventurers of the Epic Quest. They hoped that along the way they might discover the legendary ancient Book, which they came to name ‘The Book of Ideals’. The world has changed a lot since then; old organisations still exist, and new ones are surfacing all the time. The struggles the travellers face are complicated and frightening, but still they persist. You, too, will set off on a long and important journey. Perhaps you will be the one to find the legendary Book, and finally help open the door to paradise. Category:Game basics